Chusetts



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(No Model.) 1

" H. D. 80 D. W. SWIFT.

ENVELOPE MACHINE.

Patented July 9, 1895.

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- H.118: D. W. SWIFT.

ENVELOPE MACHINE.

No. 542,354 I Patented July 9, 1895.

l li-l n a m Go UNITED STAT S- PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY D. SWIFT AND DANIEL WHEELER SWIFT, OF WORCESTER, MA SSA- CHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO T HE LOGAN, SWIFT & BRIGHAM ENVELOPE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

A ENVELOPE-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 542,354, dated Jul 9, 1895.

Application fil ed Apri14,1887- Serial No. 233,689. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, HENRY D. SWIFT and DANIEL WHEELER SWIFT, citizens of the United. States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Envelope Machines, of which the following is a specification, containing a full, clear, and exact description of the same, accompanied by drawings illustrating that portion of an envelopemachine which embodies our invention, and in which Figure l is a side view of the portion of the folding mechanism of an envelope-machine to I 5 which our invention relates. Fig. 2 is a side View of a portion of the bed on whichthe envelope is folded and also showing the backflap folder in sectional view. Fig. 3 is a front View of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1, but

with the seal-flap folder and chute omitted; and Fig.4 is a top view of the bed upon which the envelope is folded.

Like letters refer to like parts in the difierent figures.

2.5 Our invention relates to that portion of an envelope-machine by which the operation of folding the envelope-blank is'performed and it consists in providing means whereby the nmenvel'ope is delivered from the folding mecho anism, and also in the construction of the back-flap folder, as hereinafter described, and set forth in the claims. 1

In the accompanying drawings, A denotes the main driving-shaft of the machine, prop- 3 5 erly journaled in the framework, which is not shown.

. B is the bed upon which the envelope-blank is folded by means of hinged folding blades or leaves, as is common in envelope-machines.

40 In the drawings only the seal-flap folder C and the back-flap holder D are shown, the end-flap folders being omitted, as they are not concerned in our present invention, and their omission exhibits the remaining parts more clearly.

The bed B is provided with slots or openings B to receive the blades E of the device, which we term the fork, whose office is to raise the folded envelope from 0d the bed and sus- 5o tain itin a position to be delivered from the folding mechanism into a chute or other re= ceptacle, and which comprises a bar E, to which the blades E are attached, having at each end the curved prongs F, pivoted at E to arms E attached to and projecting from the bed B.

The bar E is provided at its central section with the lugs E to which the forked bar E is hinged. The bar E has a fork E, which incloses the shaft A and carries the cam-roll E resting on and actuated by the cam G on the main shaft A, by which the'blades are allowed to fall during the operation of folding the envelope-blank, so their upper edges are flush with the upper surface of the bed B, and when the envelope has been folded the rotation of the cam G elevates the blades E to the position shown in Fig 1, carrying the folded envelope up,supported by their upper edges a, which, by; the-rotation of the fork upon its center E assume an inclined pos'ition, as seen in Fig. 1, with the side next the curved chute H the lowest and holding the envelope in proper alignment to be delivered into the open end I) of the chute H. During 7 the continued rotation of the shaftAthe cam G will sustain the blades E in the position shown in Fig. 1, as the-cam-rol'l E is held up by the concentric surface G' of the cam G. At the same time the cam I is rotated beneath the cam-roll J, which falls into the depression 1, allowing the free end of the bell-crank lever J to fall and carrying its vertical arm J 2 for ward and imparting a short and quick movement in the direction of the arrow 1 to the .b'ack-flap folder D, causing it to strike against the edge of the envelope as it rests upon the upper edgesof the bladesE of the fork, pushing it with a sharp quick action into the end of the chute H. The further rotation of the shaftA allows the cam-roll E to fall, dep'ressing the blades E and bringing their upper edges flush with the upper surface of the bed B and raising the cam-roll J upon the concentric surface I of the cam I, during the 5 period that an envelope-blank is brought upon the bed B in position to be folded by the action of the folding blades or leaves, the camroll J being carried down by the depression I in the cam I and carrying the back-flap roo plate K rests.

folder over on the bed B, firmly pressing the interposed envelope in the manner usual in envelope-machines. In order to allow the back-flap folder to yield, in case the envelopeblank presents any inequalities of surface, we construct the folder as hereinafter described, and shown in the drawings.

K is a spindle capable of an oscillating motion and having an arm K, to which the link J is pivoted. A channel is made in the oscillating spindle K, forming a shoulder K against which the front lower edge of the The plate K", which is pressed directly upon the back flap of the envelope, is connected to the arm K by ascrew-threaded bolt L and nut L. Between the plate K and the arm K we place a sleeve L in order to hold the plate K parallel with and the required distance from the arm K. The head L of the bolt L is convex on its under side and rests in a concave socket in the plate K so as to allow a slight oscillating motion of the plate K on the head of the bolt, and between the arm K and the nut Lwe place an elastic washer L, which yields as a pressure is brought against one side of the plate K rocking it on the head of the bolt L and end of the sleeve L drawing the bolt through the arm K and compressing the elastic washer L whose tension will draw the bolt back through the arm and restore the plate K to a position parallel with the arm L.

The link J is connected with the vertical arm J of the bellcrank lever by a screwthreaded bolt J which passes loosely through the end of the link J and is held by the nuts 0 d. Between the end of the link and the nut d we place an elastic washer J consisting of a block of rubber or an elastic coiled spring, for the purpose of permitting the plate K and its connected arm K to yield in case the plate K meets an obstruction in the operation of folding an envelope.

In the accompanying drawings we have shown only those portions which embody our present invention and those parts immediately connected with them, as the construction and arrangement of other parts of the machine may be varied in any of the well-known methods ofconstructingenvelope-making machinery.

We are aware that mechanism has been employed for the purpose of delivering the envelope from the folding mechanism in which the envelope has been raised from the bed upon which the envelope is folded. Such we do not herein claim broadly; but in our present invention the device by which the envelope is raised is pivoted in front of the bed, so the blades supporting the envelope have their upper surfaces inclined, so the envelope is supported upon the inclined surfaces and more readily moved OE and delivered into the chute. A yielding connection between the folding-plate employed in folding the back flap and its actuating-cam, so the foldingplate can yield to any inequalities of the envelope as it'is folded, has been used heretofore; but the use of an elastic washer in the link J we believe to be new. Our yielding devices also embody a novel method of attachment of the folding plate K to the arm K, which permits the plane of the plate K to be varied with reference to the plane of the bed B.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In the folding mechanism of an envelope machine, the combination with a bed upon which the envelope is folded and a chute to receive the envelope from said folding bed, of a series of envelope raising and supporting blades capable of an angular movement in a vertical plane and connected actuating mechanism, by which an angular movement is imparted to said blades, whereby their upper edges are raised from a position substantially parallel with the folding bed to a position at an angle vertical and in alignment with the receiving chute, and mechanism delivering an envelope from the inclined upper edges of said supporting blades into said receiving chute substantially as described.

2. In the folding mechanism of an envelope machine, the combination with a bed upon which the envelope is folded and envelope supporting blades which move in vertical planes through openings in said bed, whereby the folded envelope is raised from the bed to a positioninclined thereto, of a blade pivoted at the side of the bed and having a short vibratory motion against the edge of the raised envelope, substantially as described.

3. In the folding mechanism of an envelope machine, the combination with a bed on which the envelope is folded, and a vibrating blade or leaf for folding the back-flap of the envelope having connected actuating mechanism,

substantially as described, of a yielding device, consisting of the link J screw-threaded bolt J, nuts 0, d, and elastic washer .1, substantially as described.

4.. In the folding mechanism of an envelope machine, the combination with a bed upon which the envelope is folded, of an arm K, pivoted at the side of the bed and having a vibratory motion,-a bolt L, carried by said vibratory arm and having a convex head L entering a concave socket in the folding plate, a folding plate K carried on said bolt, a sleeve L placed between said vibratory arm and said folding plate, said folding plate being capable of a slight oscillating motion on said bolt, by which the plane of the folding plate is varied with reference to the plane of the bed, substantially as described.

5. In the folding mechanism of an envelope machine, the combination with a bed upon which the envelope is folded, of an oscillating spindle K having an arm K, folding plate K having a yielding connection with the arm K by means of a screw threaded bolt L, nut L, sleeve L and elastic washer L, substantially as described.

6. In the folding mechanism of an envelope machine, the combination with a bed upon which the'envelope is folded, of an oscillating spindle K provided with a shoulder K an arm K extending from said spindle, a folding plate K having its edge resting against said shoulder K but not attached thereto, said folding plate having a yielding action with thearm ,K' by means of a screw threaded I 0 bolt L, nut L, sleeve L and elastic washer L substantially as described.

HENRY D. SWIFT. D. WHEELER SWIFT. Witnesses:

J OHN S..BRIGHAM, RUFUS B. FOWLER. 

